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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28622931">Redemption</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miishae/pseuds/Miishae'>Miishae</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>mcyt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Abuse, Betrayal, Broken Family, Emetophobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Follows Canon, Hurt/Comfort, Other, Resurrection, Spoilers, broken trust, wilbur feels guilty, wilbur is brought back to life</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:27:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,235</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28622931</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miishae/pseuds/Miishae</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One shot, what I want to see happen when Wilbur is brought back to life.<br/>Spoiler heavy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>109</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Redemption</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>More works to come, I promise! I haven't forgotten about this site, I just got super distracted and busy elsewhere. Have this as a treat.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>Alive.</i>
</p><p>Alivebur?</p><p>Names don’t matter anymore. He’s just Wilbur now. There is no Ghostbur or Alivebur or anything in between. Both were just parts of his personality, parts he chose to separate so he didn’t have to handle the responsibility and guilt over his previous actions. </p><p>Coming back to life <i>hurts.</i> There are aches and pains in body parts he’d forgotten existed. There’s the physical pain, the sensation of a sword being run through his stomach. There’s hunger pangs; he hadn’t eaten in months. He’s too thin, too worn out, and there’s no time to collapse and let himself exist as a human again. </p><p>There are emotional pains too. He <i>remembers.</i> He remembers everything, both alive and dead. It’s all racing through his mind, spiraling around and around until he wants to cry, to vomit, or both. He wants to stab himself with a sword again to bleed out the agony over how much of a villain he’d become, but everyone around him is hedging away from him, purposely keeping a tight grip on their weapons. He can see Eret keeping a white-knuckled grip on their sword. Next to them is Tommy... </p><p>
  <i>Tommy.</i>
</p><p>Wilbur brings his fists to his eyes and presses in until he sees spots even through closed lids. If he can drag the pain outside of his head, he won’t feel as strong of an urge to cry every time he looks at the teenager.</p><p>He’d seen how much Tommy had been effected by his aftermath. He’d been so selfish, only thinking of himself, not sparing any thought for someone he thinks of as a younger brother. Sweet, innocent, annoying Tommy, who’d suffered so much at his hands, at the hands of everyone else. </p><p>“T..Tommy..” his voice is raspy, weak. His hands drop and he blinks to clear his vision. It hurts to speak at all. It feels like there’s a blade going into his throat every time he swallows. “Tommy I...”</p><p>“Wilbur.” Tommy’s voice is monotone. His face is blank and emotionless, but his eyes still give away everything. Wilbur can see the months of damage on Tommy’s face. The sunken eyes, the set jaw that indicates clenched teeth, the way his brows are furrowed in worry. His eyes...There’s so much pain there, just under the surface. Pain and guilt; Wilbur had seen it first hand. He’d sat back and allowed Dream to hurt him. Punish Tommy, over Wilbur’s actions.</p><p>He reaches forward, first barely brushing his fingers against Tommy’s shirt. He’s real, he’s really there in front of him. Wilbur then presses his fingertips down on Tommy’s shoulder, finding something to grip onto. He squeezes, feeling how tense Tommy is. When’s the last time Tommy was able to rest? Or even just relax? </p><p>When’s the last time he got to be a sixteen year old?</p><p>“Tommy, I did this to you.” Wilbur’s voice is a whisper, unable to speak any louder. “I did everything to you.”</p><p>“Wil...” The hard edge in Tommy’s gaze is fading. Wilbur can only see the hurt now. The anguish and lament over what his older brother had become. He hates himself. He can’t imagine how Tommy feels toward him; does Tommy hate him too?</p><p>He half hopes so.</p><p>“Tommy I... I’m so...” </p><p>“It doesn’t matter anymore, Wilbur.” Tommy’s the spokesperson, clearly. Wilbur sneaks a glance around, there’s not many people. Tommy, Tubbo, Eret, Phil, and Ranboo. They’re all staring at him, but Wilbur can’t tell what they’re thinking. Only Tommy. Only Tommy matters... </p><p>No, wait. </p><p>He pulls back, sparing a second to cup Tommy’s cheek. The reunion can wait, he wants to address something. Someone. </p><p>“Phil.” </p><p>“You’re alive,” Phil says, just as quietly. There’s a sadness in his eyes too. “I never thought I’d see the day.” </p><p>“Phil, you did this.” Wilbur turns away from the courtyard and walks to the edge, overlooking the destruction. “You did this to us.”</p><p>“I had to,” Phil says. “You don’t know what it was like, watching the government turn innocent people into tyrants, and repeating the same mistakes of their predecessors. I watched Techno get executed because of it, I watched you die-” </p><p>“You killed me because <i><b>I</b></i> asked you to!” Wilbur snaps, whirling around to face the group. He can see Tubbo flinch. “What happened last time wasn’t Tubbo’s fault, it was mine! I had become someone I didn’t want to be because I didn’t want to see L’Manburg fall into the hands of a tyrant! You and Dream and Techno? You were <i>wrong</i>. This wasn’t the government, this isn’t a message, this was tyranny! He's your son!” </p><p>He points a finger at Tommy. “Tommy's your son too, and he needed us. He needed all of us to band together, to save the one symbol of peace and freedom that was left. I planted those seeds, I scattered them for people to cultivate and grow, and instead you set fire to the very ideals we all once had. You cannot tell me <i>it didn’t matter</i>.” </p><p>“I was hoping you’d understand. Wilbur, I hurt too,” Phil said softly. “I never wanted to be dragged into war, I wanted peace. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good, and if this truly brings about peace, then I was happy to do my part.”</p><p>“I don’t trust you,” Wilbur says. “I made my mistakes, I too turned to Dream for destruction, and instead of all of us paying for it, Tommy paid for it. Tommy was the one--no, Tommy <i>is</i> the one paying for all our sins, and I’m not putting this on him anymore. You can think what you want Phil, but I’m done. I’m not coming back to life just to watch chaos and anarchy run rampant, I’m going to help Tommy, for once.”</p><p>“I don’t want to choose sides, Wilbur.” Phil looks down. “I was hoping you would come with me and Tech-” </p><p>“You’re <i>always</i> going to put Techno first, aren’t you?” Tommy interrupts. “We need...I needed you, Dad. I needed you and you weren’t there. Wilbur wasn’t there, Tubbo wasn’t there, you know who was there? Dream! It’s fucked up, the way no one cares! I’m... I’m a <i>child</i>. I can’t keep doing this on my own!”</p><p>“You’re not alone,” Wilbur says. He wants to cry again. He wants to stab himself, just seeing the anguish on Tommy’s face. “I’m with you. Whatever you decide, Tommy, I have your back.”</p><p>Tommy looks at him, looking him up and down. Are those tears in Tommy’s eyes, or is that a trick of the light? “How do I know I can trust you this time?” He asked. His voice is so broken. He’s no longer looking at Phil, who’s turning to go. “How do I know you’re not going to stab me in the back?”</p><p>“I don’t know how to convince you to trust me, and maybe you never will. But I’m here again, and I’m going to do for you what I should have done a long time ago.” </p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“I’m going to help you get your discs back from Dream.” Wilbur presses his hands to Tommy’s shoulders again. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Phil rounding the corner and disappearing out of sight. He hopes one day they’ll reunite, but for now, Phil can have Techno. His two children have each other.</p><p>“Together, Tommy, I promise.”</p>
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